“For [Mainframe Studios] to kind of survive and thrive, as it does as a nonprofit in Des Moines, Iowa, of all places, I think that there is true resiliency in that,” said Micah Ferin, the Drake Alumni Artist-in-Residence for 2023-24 and current Mainframe studio resident. “Mainframe is a diamond in the rough.”
Inhale… Exhale… Mainframe is a building that reminds people to breathe. With a 360-degree mural situated in downtown Des Moines, Mainframe Studios is a place “that is visually vibrant,” said Claire Sedovic, the Drake Alumni Artist-in-Residence for 2019-20, current Drake Professor and Mainframe studio resident.
Originally built in 1978 to house mainframe computers, DesMoinesArts purchased, renovated and first opened the building as Mainframe Studios in 2017, according to the studio’s website.
Acting as permanent and affordable spaces for the local arts, Mainframe describes itself as “the nation’s largest nonprofit building for creative workspaces.” It houses 180 studios of all backgrounds and disciplines, supporting over 220 artists.
“Many times in big cities, artists move into the cool, old industrial buildings and then that area becomes more affluent and they get pushed out,” said Sedovic.
Unlike the old industrial buildings, it is affordable to stay in one of the Mainframe studios, Sedovic said. Additionally, according to Ferin, the space is also “super conducive in terms of networking, making connections with people in the community and pursuing opportunities that you would not have otherwise known about.”
One studio in particular, Studio 411, supports the Drake Alumni Artist-in-Residence program. Each year, professors will recommend up to ten Drake senior artists for the spot, and each will write a proposal explaining how the studio would benefit the artist.
“It was great moving into the Drake space, that was a huge achievement,” Sedovic said. “But that space was meant to be temporary, so there was something that was kind of ephemeral the whole time. You have a set duration that you get to be there to take advantage of that.”
Moving into Studio 411
August to August, one artist will move out, and a new one will move in. When no one fills the space, Studio 411 is overwhelming in size, as if waiting for art to fill it.
“I remember just kind of watching [my friend] with dinner plate eyes from across the room. I was unsure where I wanted to go, and Mainframe was kind of a nice lighthouse in the distance,” said Ferin about his experience prior to his Artist-In-Residency.
About a year later, it was Esme Belmond, current Drake Alumni Artist-in-Residence of 2024-25 looking forward to moving in.
“When you’re in school, you’re not really focused on anything but school work, at least that was for me,” Belmond said. “But I went once to check on Micah’s space, I had to see it at least once. I wish I had gone more.”
Drake University pays for the studio through the program, so the artist accepted to the studio does not need to pay for the space, which provides recent graduates a jumping-off point for their art careers.
This residency is integral not only to the select artists at Drake University but also to Des Moines as a whole. “To have the community embrace somebody new, I think that’s a symbiotic, net good relationship,” Ferin said.
Mainframe creates and provides opportunities for newly graduated artists to find inspiration in the environment around them, to test new skills and to feel supported while doing so.
“Having community around me that I can go talk to and ask advice, having [artists] in the building that I can go talk to and get mentorship from, that’s really beneficial,” Belmond said. “There is this idea that there are only so many chances you get to really pursue [art] and to put your work out there. This was one of them.”
Framing the future
Despite completing their Artist-In-Residence, many have continued to stay within Mainframe. Ferin and Sedovic have since moved to other studios in the building, while Belmond will continue her residency through August.
“Mainframe is a portion of the reason I’m here in Des Moines still. It is my second home,” Sedovic said. “…I am making a difference, and being in that space is part of it, and being able to share that with others is very beautiful.”
Looking to the future, according to their website, Mainframe Studios ensures “that creative professionals have a place in the heart of our city for generations to come.”
